'Godzilla' El Niño Update: Floods, Mudslides, and Mayhem

On Thursday, NOAA forecasters gave an update on the impending El Niño -- the climate phenomenon involving abnormally warm Pacific surface temperatures -- saying it could be the strongest on record. Also, a NASA climatologist said this: "This definitely has the potential of being the Godzilla El Niño."

So, apparently El Niño will now be using its atomic breath to bring massive storms to the West Coast.

According to the NOAA, the Pacific continues to see warmer than average temperatures, and there is a 90% chance that El Niño will continue through the winter and into the spring. Images released by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory show that this El Niño is stronger than the 1997 El Niño was at this time.

Bill Patzert, the NASA climatologist who thinks complex weather patterns are giant reptilian sea monsters, was no less spirited when speaking to the LA Times, saying: "Everything now is going to the right way for El Niño... If this lives up to its potential, this thing can bring a lot of floods, mudslides and mayhem." We'd expect nothing less than mayhem from something that has previously gone head-to-head with King Kong.

A blogger for the NOAA has also referred to El Niño as "Bruce Lee," which just seems like a missed opportunity to hop on how hot mixed martial arts are right now. Bruce Lee/Godzilla is expected bring about heavy winter rains in California and the southern US, but officials are warning Californians not to get too excited about all the water: "A single El Niño year is very unlikely to erase four years of drought," Kevin Werner, the NOAA's expert on climate in the western US told the Times.

So, a giant sea monster-like weather phenomenon is going to attack the West Coast with rain, but it's not going to bring enough rain to end the drought. This is the Donald Trump El Niño -- lots of hot air, but not a lot of solid carry-through.

Lucy Meilus is a staff writer for Thrillist and thinks no weather forecast is worth reading unless it involves fictional monsters. Follow her on Twitter at @Lucymeilus and send news tips to news@thrillist.com.

You Can Now Return Amazon Orders at Kohl's and Whole Foods

Amazon shoppers are getting a convenient new way to deal with unwanted items. Beginning in October, you can return Amazon unpackaged products purchased online to 82 Kohl's locations in Los Angeles and Chicago.

You can bring in that Bluetooth-enabled fidget spinner (as long as it's an "eligible item") and Kohl's will package it and ship it back to Amazon for free. There will even be designated parking spots for customers who are returning Amazon items. Kohl's is hoping the returns bring in new customers who might buy something while they're in the store.

"This is a great example of how Kohl’s and Amazon are leveraging each other's strengths," said Kohl's Chief Administrative Officer Richard Schepp, "the power of Kohl’s store portfolio and omnichannel capabilities combined with the power of Amazon’s reach and loyal customer base."

These are in addition to reports in late August that Whole Foods, which Amazon took over in August, will allow in-store pickup and returns of Amazon purchases. Between Kohl's, Whole Foods, and Amazon Lockers, there are a lot of ways to pick up and return items, making Amazon seem less and less like an online-only store.

This Kohl's announcement comes after Kohl's announced earlier this month that stores in Los Angeles and Chicago would get mini Amazon stores inside Kohl's locations. The stores-within-a-store will focus on Amazon's "devices, accessories and smart home devices."

There was no announcement about plans to expand beyond Los Angeles and Chicago, but if the last few months have taught us anything, it should be that Amazon is always expanding like a digital Violet Beauregarde.

8 Cultural Activities To Class Up Your LA Weekend

Sure, it’s great to spend your weekends watching Marvel movies and DVRing Vanderpump Rules on the DL. But sometimes, you want to do something a little more refined. A little more elegant. Perhaps, you’d like to partake in an activity with a little... culture.

If the last “art” exhibit you liked was a beauty influencer's Instagram, it might be time to break out of your routine and tour some of the cultural highlights of Southern California. Luckily, Los Angeles is surrounded by lovely locales that offer the chance to experience fine art, dance, film, and history, all while taking a break from the city. So, plan a weekend day away and visit one of these cultural gems just outside of LA.

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How Many Hours You Need to Work to Buy a House in the Biggest US Cities

There are many ways to think about how much buying a house costs or how much house you can afford. Considered less often is how many hours of work that money equates to. At least most people don't buy one of those pricey Game of Thrones beers and think, "This beer cost me one hour of work."

GOBankingRates has put together those figures for the nation's 25 largest cities. The calculation takes a handful of variables into account, including median home prices, mortgage rates, and median household income in each city. From there, it calculated median hourly pay based on the number of work hours in a year in order to provide how many hours per week you'd need to work to afford a house in these markets.

Median prices and not looking at other factors that go into everyday life don't make this a bible of statistical data. However, it provides an interesting look at home prices, and how they correlate to working hours across the nation.

New York requires the most hours, according to Go Banking Rates, because the city has incredibly high home prices (more than three times higher than the national median price) and median incomes that sit below the national average.

Detroit is at the other end of the spectrum for many reasons, including having the lowest home prices on the list and a declining population.

If you live in a city with totally unreasonable home prices, you might not find solace in your favorite food. Avocado prices are on the rise, and you're going to have to work way too many hours to keep yourself in avocado toast.

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